Birr Castle Demesne
Garden · Birr ·
Castle gardens, science centre with historic telescope and hedge
Castle gardens, science centre with historic telescope and hedge
"Situated almost exactly between Galway and Dublin in central Ireland, this demesne encompasses some 120 picturesque acres of gardens and houses Ireland's Historic Science Centre, home to The Great Telescope — the world's largest when created in the 1840s — and one of the oldest darkrooms still used since the mid-19th century. The on-site Rosse Observatory is run by Trinity College Dublin, and the castle itself, built as a Norman fortress in 1170, has been home to the Parsons family since 1620; family-run guided tours operate from May to September." - Patricia Doherty Patricia Doherty Patricia Doherty is a writer who specializes in covering destinations, resorts, and cruises for Travel + Leisure and other publications. Travel + Leisure Editorial Guidelines
"The “box” of a box hedge does not refer to its shape, as one might assume, but to the genus Buxus, which includes dozens of species of evergreens that people have used to create living walls. The tradition of shaping box hedges goes back centuries; in Roman times, Pliny the Elder described box hedges grown along pleasant paths. Birr Castle’s box hedge was first planted 300 years ago and, at close to 40 feet, it’s the tallest box hedge in the world, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. The box hedge is part of the castle’s formal grounds, which have been cultivated by generations of the Parsons family, who settled in the castle in 1620. The seventh Earl of Rosse still lives there and pay close attention to the garden, which include a lovely hornbeam cloister walk. The castle also has giant telescope, originally built in the 1840s by the third Earl of Rosse." - ATLAS_OBSCURA
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